2020 Super Outbreak
The 2020 Super Outbreak is the second largest tornado outbreak to ever affect the United States, surpassing the 1974 Super Outbreak for the position. It is also the the second most violent tornado outbreak on record, surpassing the 2011 Super Outbreak and the 1965 Palm Sunday Outbreak for the spot with 21 confirmed EF4-EF5 tornadoes. It is also the most intense outbreak to ever affect the US with 204 EF2+ tornadoes being confirmed and documented via NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS); surpassing the 1974 Outbreak which had 96 significant tornadoes. It is also the largest, most significant outbreak to strike the Central Plains, and most violent outbreak to affect Oklahoma and Kansas in a 24 hour period. Oklahoma saw the most tornadoes of the outbreak with 94 confirmed. This surpassed the record set on May 3, 1999 in which Oklahoma saw 71 tornadoes affect the central region of the state. In total, 272 tornadoes were confirmed and document across 20 states from May 1 through the early hours of May 3. May 1 was the most violent and active day of the outbreak with 157 tornadoes confirmed to have occurred across 8 states; primarily Oklahoma and Kansas. Of the 272 tornadoes 5 were rated EF5; the second most right behind the 1974 Super Outbreak which saw 7 F5 tornadoes. In total, 602 people were killed as a result of the outbreak, which includes 568 tornado-related deaths across 7 states and an additional 34 other fatalities caused by other thunderstorm related events such as straight-line winds, hail, flash flooding, and/or lightning. A few died during search and rescue following the disaster. In Oklahoma, 304 tornado-related deaths were documented by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and the state's Emergency Management Agency. May 1's 532 fatalities are the most tornado-related fatalities in the United States since the "Tri-State" outbreak on March 18, 1925 in which at least 747 people were killed. There were 351 preliminary local storm reports (LSR) recieved for tornadoes over the nearly 48 hours the outbreak took place. At $17.4 billion (2020 USD) in damages, the event is the costliest tornado outbreak and one of the costliest natural disasters in United States history. Meterological Synopsis The outbreak was caused by a powerful, broad trough with a developing upper, middle, and low level cyclone as a result of baroclinic forcing. This cyclone deepend rapidly throughout the day on May 1st, leading to extreme levels of theta-e advection through the warm sector, and a rapidly lifting, sharp warm front through north Oklahoma toward central Kansas. Due to the extreme cross over from a 120 kt H5 flow and the backing of winds from the otherside of the cyclone lapse rates exceeded 8 C/km in the low levels. This, in conjunction with mid 80s high temperatures and mid 70s dewpoints, saw surface CAPE values exceed 5000 J/kg. These dynamics intersected a region of extremely high low level shear, with very strong SSE flow coming up from the Texas Gulf coast, backing strongly in a large area stretching from Central Texas into South Central Kansas. This resulted in a swath of 0-1km SRH exceeding 550 m2/s2 and ESRH over 600 m2/s2. Notable Tornadoes Category:Super Outbreaks Category:Tornadoes of 2020 Category:Violent Outbreaks Category:Deadly Outbreaks